POINTE-CLAIRE, Que. - Laurier's two Golden Hawk swimmers made a splash on day one of the U SPORTS swimming championships hosted by McGill University.

During the prelim session, raced in a 25m pool, Golden Hawks Kent Goni Avila and Owen Jibb advanced to finals. Goni advanced to the A final in the 100m butterfly after setting a new personal best and team record of 53.54, putting him in sixth place for finals.

Jibb advanced to the C final of the 400m individual medley with a time of 4:26.49, putting him in 20th before finals.

In finals, raced in a 50m pool, Goni started the evening with a fourth-place finish in the 100m fly with a 54.75, breaking his old team record by over a second and reaching the Olympic trials qualifying time. He also missed the podium by just 0.05 of a second.

After the race, Goni stated how he felt it was a "great start to the competition."

"I was hoping to get a medal but there are more chances Friday and Saturday," he said.

When Jibb stepped up for his 400m individual medley, he was ready to soar. Jibb stayed close to the leaders until the breaststroke leg, where he made his move, quickly moving into first place. 

The first-year business major battled the field during the freestyle leg but raced hard, winning the C final, and finishing 17th overall in 4:35.84; both a new team record time and an Olympic Trials qualifying time.

After the race, Jibb was "very happy with my accomplishments tonight."

"Going into finals, I just trusted the training I have done throughout the season. I am so thankful to (head coach) Cathy (Pardy) and the Laurier Athletics team for helping me achieve my goal of making the Olympic Trials."

Goni Avila cheered Jibb on throughout the race and said, "I'm happy to see him win his final and qualify for the Olympic Trials."

The pair finished the first day of the competition in 12th place out of 21 men's teams.

The Hawks are back in the water Friday at 9:30 am.